Our Kalinga adventure continued the next day with military training-inspired activities. First on our agenda: rappelling down a bridge. I had never rappelled in my life before and I'm not a huge fan of heights so this experience was a bit nerve-racking.
Before we started the activity, we were given a briefing and some safety instructions. The biggest challenge for me was actually getting off the bridge and not having anything solid under my feet. However, once I got the rhythm of controlling and releasing the rope, it was relatively smooth sailing.
A couple of my "daredevil" friends actually did a "lizard rappel" or I think that's what it's called, which means that they went down head first. Pretty awesome! Not something I would like to do, though. :)
Once everyone in group had been able to rappel at least once (a few did it twice), it was time to eat. We headed to the venue of our next activity - shooting training - where we had a really good picnic-style lunch.
After our delicious and satisfying meal, we walked over to our outdoor shooting range. Our instructor is a PMA graduate and he made sure we understood the importance of treating a gun with utmost respect. He explained the proper way to hold a handgun and showed us how to aim and shoot it. He also taught us how to replace the magazine. Once our briefing was done, it was time to shoot.
Our training involved three rounds. The first part was basic: we had to just shoot at the target. The second part required us to do rapid fire. The third part required us to fire three shots in quick succession, replace the magazine, then fire another three shots. I started out really nervous because I know how powerful and dangerous guns are. It felt like having so much destructive power in my hands and it made me really uneasy. In fact, I couldn't even cock the gun at the start because my hands were so sweaty. However, once I felt more comfortable, I started doing a lot better.
In the end, I did marginally well for a first-timer. Some of my shots landed very close to each other. Our instructor told me that I had potential to be a decent shooter. Cool!
This was a fantastic day that involved two new firsts for me - rappelling and handgun training. My Kalinga trip was becoming more memorable by the minute. Still, I will be sharing a few more experiences in my next post.
Before we started the activity, we were given a briefing and some safety instructions. The biggest challenge for me was actually getting off the bridge and not having anything solid under my feet. However, once I got the rhythm of controlling and releasing the rope, it was relatively smooth sailing.
A couple of my "daredevil" friends actually did a "lizard rappel" or I think that's what it's called, which means that they went down head first. Pretty awesome! Not something I would like to do, though. :)
Once everyone in group had been able to rappel at least once (a few did it twice), it was time to eat. We headed to the venue of our next activity - shooting training - where we had a really good picnic-style lunch.
After our delicious and satisfying meal, we walked over to our outdoor shooting range. Our instructor is a PMA graduate and he made sure we understood the importance of treating a gun with utmost respect. He explained the proper way to hold a handgun and showed us how to aim and shoot it. He also taught us how to replace the magazine. Once our briefing was done, it was time to shoot.
Our training involved three rounds. The first part was basic: we had to just shoot at the target. The second part required us to do rapid fire. The third part required us to fire three shots in quick succession, replace the magazine, then fire another three shots. I started out really nervous because I know how powerful and dangerous guns are. It felt like having so much destructive power in my hands and it made me really uneasy. In fact, I couldn't even cock the gun at the start because my hands were so sweaty. However, once I felt more comfortable, I started doing a lot better.
In the end, I did marginally well for a first-timer. Some of my shots landed very close to each other. Our instructor told me that I had potential to be a decent shooter. Cool!
This was a fantastic day that involved two new firsts for me - rappelling and handgun training. My Kalinga trip was becoming more memorable by the minute. Still, I will be sharing a few more experiences in my next post.
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